Daisy 880: Part 1

Blog reader Rob asked for this review. I have reviewed the Daisy 880 before, but that was back in the days when I wrote The Airgun Letter. I doubt many of you will have seen that report. I’ve reported on the Daisy 22X, as well, but that was long ago and those reports may be difficult to locate. The 22X and 177X are derivatives of the 880 powerplant.

The 880 is a multi-pump pneumatic that has a short pump stroke. As a result, it’s relatively easy to pump up to the maximum 10 pump strokes. The useful range of pumps lies between 3 and 10 strokes.

The 880 pump handle is short and also has good leverage to reduce the pump effort as much as possible.

The 880 shoots both steel BBs and lead pellets through its rifled steel barrel. At 10 pumps, Daisy rates the rifle at 715 f.p.s. with lead pellets and 750 f.p.s. with steel BBs. Naturally, I’ll test both for you.

The 880 is one of a very few airguns that comes up in conversation whenever airgunners are remembering their favorite guns. It’s lightweight, easy to operate and inexpensive, so there are a lot of them out there. But the attraction goes a lot farther than just a rare bargain. There’s something about the 880 that inspires fierce owner loyalty.

The rifle I’m testing for you is about 13-14 years old, but it probably has fewer than 500 shots on the clock. After testing it initially, I never really went back and used it much. That’s not a comment on the quality — I just never had the time to go back. But I do note that I kept it all these years, and that says something. Every year or so, I get a question about the 880 that makes me drag it out of the closet for a closer look. And this time, I plan to look at it intently, as Rob requested.

My rifle is old, but the specs haven’t changed much since it was built. I have the same red fiberoptic front sight that they still put on the gun and a non-fiberoptic rear one. The weight of 3.1 lbs. is still the same. And the basic functions of a single-shot pellet feed (loaded manually into the bolt trough) or a 50-shot BB magazine, with its feed to a magnetic bolt tip when the gun is cocked.

Speaking of cocking the rifle, you must do it to pump the gun. The design is such that if the gun isn’t cocked, the pump strokes will not pressurize the reservoir. This means the 880 and all associated models cannot be stored with a pump of air in the reservoir. Theoretically, this can be bad for the seals — exposing them to the dirt in the air — but neither my 880 nor my 22X have ever shown signs of a problem. So, this system works, too.

When you pull the pump handle all the way forward, the pump head is exposed in the slot beneath the forearm. This is where you periodically oil the head to maintain compression. The felt washer behind the pump head evenly spreads the oil around the compression chamber walls.

This is where you oil the 880’s pump head. The felt washer to the left keeps the oil spread on the compression chamber walls.

Things people like about the 880
Accuracy is the No. 1 thing owners have to say in praise of the 880. They way most of them talk, I’m expecting something really impressive. The second thing they like is that it also shoots BBs. That’s a turn-off for me, but Daisy sells a lot of these rifles, so I’m not the normal customer.

Those who like the BB aspect also like the fact the rifle is a repeater with BBs. So, Daisy listened to their customers when the 880 was designed.

Things people dislike about the 880A lot of owners criticize the plastic, saying they think that it might break with use. It might break, I suppose; but when you look at customer reviews for the 880, parts breakage isn’t one of the big things mentioned. I think this is more a question of perception rather than a real problem. One writer thought the 880 should be made in a higher-quality version for adults; but when Daisy did that (it was called the 22X), it didn’t sell well. It’s obsolete, while the 880 continues to sell very well. Perception and reality are not the same.

They also criticize the single-stage trigger. Yes, it’s heavy and creepy. But no more than the triggers on similar air rifles made with the same level of performance. If you want good triggers, you need to buy the kind of airguns that have them.

Pellets can be difficult to load in the 880. The reason seems to be the hole at the rear of the pellet trough that allows BBs to pass through. It can catch the skirt of a lead pellet and make it hang up.

The hole at the rear of the pellet loading trough is where the BBs pass through. It can catch pellet skirts, making them difficult to load.

In general
The rifle is mostly plastic on the outside. That carries through to the inside, as well. To stay in this price range, a lot of economies need to be addressed, and molded plastic parts are one of the solutions. That doesn’t mean the plastic is weak or inferior in any way. I’m pretty sure these guns last a long time.

On the other hand, the steel barrel is a very thin tube. It’s an insert that’s housed inside a plastic sheath that’s covered by a thin sheetmetal cover.

Here you can see the sheetmetal jacket over the plastic sheath that houses the actual barrel. The muzzle of the real barrel is the silver crown you see, deep inside the false muzzle shown here.

Overall
We have a real classic pellet rifle to test. There are millions of 880s in circulation, and I expect to hear from a lot of their owners as this report progresses.

113 thoughts on “Daisy 880: Part 1”

Wow. I am so excited. This is my truck gun. I went looking for a 2100b a few years ago to no avail, and settled on this 40 dollar delight. After trying crosman and jsb pellets, I tested an old tin of silver sting’s. They work very well. .8 inch 10 shot groups at 20 yards. The jsb 10.3 worked well too, but i had 1000 silver sting on hand so that is all i have shot for the last year. I have to clean the barrel every few hundred shots to maintain the accuracy, which with a little 2-7 tasco is plenty for pigeon and squirrel out to 20 yards. The plastic receiver has held up well and i have been very impressed with it. Have fun B.B.. I wonder if this one will shoot the barracuda greens as well as the 2100b. I never tried them.

Never owned one of these but the comments from owners on the blog along with B.B.’s annual inclusion of the Daisy 880 on his Recommended list for airgunner Christmas gifts have always intrigued me.

Unscoped the Daisy 880 sells for $45.95 at Pyramyd Air and the packaged 880 with a scope and mounts sells for $49.95. That’s impressive. I can’t fill my gas tank for those prices!

Got a kick to of reading the reviews on the PA site about this airgun. There are 45 reviews under the Unscoped version of the 880 on the PA site and 27 reviews under the package deal/scoped version.

One guy is getting 1/2″ groups at over 70 yards using pellets in his and another guy punctured a metal folding chair at great distance with his 880.

The bar has been set high for B.B.’s power and accuracy testing with pellets!

I like how B.B. Addressed the recommended number of pumps for this airgun since a lot of reviewers were over pumping their guns. Scope mounting problems on the 880 was also a common issue. Don’t know if that could be addressed in this series but once this series is linked to the 880 on the PA site as the “LATEST BUZZ/ARTICLE” it might minimize problems from new 880 owners.

Lots of reviewers were enjoying good accuracy in the 880 using super domes and cphp pellets.

Once you complete an article or a series on an airgun it is linked to the Pyramyd Air site right under the model itself to aid buyers in learning more about the airgun that they’re viewing on the PA site. You article is identified as “Review, article, latest buzz”. Every airgun you have ever reviewed has this link titled “Review, article, latest buzz” under the model name on the PA site.

My suggestion for this series on the 880 was to address some of the common complaints and flat out mistakes that are being made by the reviewers/owners of the 880 on the PA site while taking into account that this is probably most buyers first airgun.

For example, you already addressed over pumping and what it is, i.e., don’t pump more than 10 times. You already addressed one maintenance item, where to put the oil. I humbly suggest that you also tell these potential first time airgun owners What type of oil to use, How much to use and When to use it (how often).

You also addressed whether to store this gun with a pump of air or not. Important.

Lots of the reviewers of the 880 had difficulty mounting a scope on the “engineers resin” rail? Others had a problem “calibrating the scope” to get it on target. Maybe some suggestions from you on how to address these issues when you get to the scope part, if you do, or at least a link to your previous articles on MOUNTING A SCOPE and links to your HOW TO ADJUST A SCOPE would help these new airgun owners to avoid some frustration and become hooked LOL!

Trying lots of pellets to find the one that is most accurate should be hit hard for these first timers. Should they clean the barrel on their new prized possession? etc.

As a footnote, there were lots of complaints about the quality of the scope and rings included in the package deal. Noting that the scope and rings add only $4.00 of cost to the 880 rifle/scope package deal over the cost of the rifle all by itself I don’t think you can help these owners that complain about the quality of the scope and rings. 😉

Your “tutorial for first time airgunners” is a great idea IF THEY COULD FIND IT ON THE PYRAMYD AIR SITE.

I’m not optimistic about that. My winded response was to merely remind you that the Daisy 880 article will be read by experienced airgunners here on the blog but the real benefit will be for newbies looking to buy their first or maybe second airgun and more detail than usual about the basics seems to be in order.

A brief tutorial or FAQ for newcomers would be a great thing-especially if it linked back to your in-depth articles and was a permanent fixture at PA.

LET ME TELL YOU the first great lesson I learned from you. You might take it for granted, but I HAD NO IDEA that different branded pellets effected accuracy. I assumed that since they were all .177 or .22…and basically all looked the same, they all fired equally well from each gun! When I had a bad shooter, I assumed the gun was bad and gave up on it ever performing.

Learning that pellet brand effect performance may seem like a small thing, but I wonder how many pellet guns get tossed in the trash, garage sale, closet every year because of this misunderstanding? You would think it would behoove the manufacturers to recommend pellets-even if not their own brand if it helped demonstrate their guns accuracy!

welcome to the blog! The idea for recommending a specific pellet for a specific rifle is a good idea but it’s only a starting point. due to the manufacturing process and tolerances, not all barrels will obtain their best accuracy from the same pellet all the time. One must still try a few different pellets and more importantly, One needs to use the top quality pellets and you typically can only find them at specialty stores or online like here at PA. The pellets I have found the most accurate revolve around JSB’s, H & N’s, Crosman Premiers and sometimes RWS H’s. All the pellets are round nosed – not pointed and wadcutters for 10 meters or less. The less accurate pellets end up being fodder for chrony testing.

Thanks Fred.
Exactly! Not just that certain pellets are best for certain guns, but that guns are idiosyncratic…each will have its own best pellet! The concepts never entered my mind before I started reading this blog. I thought there were only a couple of different brands of pellets (those in Wally World) and the only differences between them were in the advertising.

You’re not alone. Pyramyd Air gets at least one email a week via their website feedback link that expresses similar frustration.

Each gun…not just each model…will like different pellets. Just because my gun likes a pellet and shoots it accurately doesn’t mean your gun…same year, same model…will also shoot it accurately. This is a very hard concept to convey to people who are new to airguns or the shooting sports (there are firearm shooters who assume all ammo is accurate and that price is not an indication of anything other than gouging by the mfr). The number of times I’ve had to write the answer to inquiries is so frequent that we now have a standard answer we send. It’s the same every time because they’re all asking the same thing.

Generally speaking, the person who writes in wonders why we haven’t done the obvious and have a list of pellets known to be accurate in each gun. They assume that we’ve tested every pellet brand/model in every gun model and that a pellet accurate in one gun will be accurate in every gun with that model number.

I find this very interesting, as I wouldn’t make that type of extrapolation about other products…clothing, food, cars, gasoline, carpeting, housing, TVs, etc.

Thank you for your honesty in the feedback you gave. Yes, I do make assumptions, but I try to remember that new shooters come along all the time.

Hearing from one, however, really focuses me.

Just writing FAQs is too ambiguous, because that is what this blog is — really. Can you give me a short list of things about the shooting sports that puzzle you? Maybe some other readers will see it and do the same.

I’ve been following your blog for a few years now, but I will be glad to tell you a few of my early surprises in the world of airguns. I do hope others will add to this list and not laugh at me too much. I’m going to put my early beliefs in the form of myth/truth–because I was mistaken on every count at one time. I know someone will correct me me if I mistate a fact.

Myth. All pellets are the same. The only differences between the 2-3 different brands available is marketing. Truth. Every airgun is different and will shoot very differently depending on the brand, weight, and shape of pellets fired from it. New guns should always be tested with a variety of pellets.

Myth. Pointed pellets are best for hunting. Truth. Pointed pellets may pierce an animal, but that might not be the best way to humanely kill it. Projecting power into the animal with domes, hollow points or even target pellets is better, and a heavier weight pellet moving slowly is better than a tiny pellet busting the sound barrier.

Myth. A pellet or BB gun is a good tool to teach an animal a lesson/run it off. Truth. Most pellet guns today are capable of piercing the skin of an animal at a close distance (and some at long distances), and a sunken pellet will fester…sometimes killing the animal–allways punishing it inhumanely. Also, the new airguns (new if you haven’t bought an airgun in 2-3 decades) can be extremely powerful and potentially lethal. When I was a kid, we put on an extra coat and had BB gun wars. That was a bad idea then, and a worse idea now.

Myth. Oil your gun good (or the reverse, pellet guns last forever…there is no need to maintain them.) I’m guilty of both of these. Truth. Pellgun oil is specifically made for airgun lubrication. Engine oil can hurt it. Too much and not enough oil are equally bad for life and performance. There are still some things I don’t understand about lubrication. There are other oils and greases (lithium and molly grease) that I still know almost nothing about.

Myth. There are only 2-3 brands of airguns. Truth. There are dozens and seem to be more every time I look. Wally World May have a Gin at a lower cost, but it’s best in the long run to buy from experts who can give advice on all aspects of the gun, including potential scopes and pellets.

Myth. You have to spend a fortune to get a straight shooting quality airgun. Truth. Some of the inexpensive guns are the best. That said, you have to pay more to get all metal, wood, and a Lothar Walthar barrel (a combination I haven’t gotten yet).

Myth. Every barrel should be cleaned. Truth. Some barrels don’t require cleaning at all. Some guns require frequent cleaning.

Myth. High power scopes make for better accuracy. Truth. A clear scope makes for the best accuracy…and sometimes taking the scope off and shooting open sites is the best route.

Myth. It doesn’t matter where a gun is made. Truth. A good gun could be made anywhere, but the Germans (for example) have the motivation, factories, and artisan capabilities, and history of making fantastic guns. Other areas of the world are often low end bidders without devotion to the craft.

Myth. Higher speed/greater power is always better. Truth. If you want to blow holes in plywood, greater speed and power are better. However, if you want to hit a target the size of a fly or hunt squirrels at any distance greater than point blank, accuracy is much more important.

Myth. Guns fire as fast as their containers claim. Truth. Airguns rarely fire as fast as the manufacturer brags. When they do, it is because they are a very good brand, or because the maker tested the gun with ultra lite pellets or took advantage of dieseling explosions.

Myth. Airguns are only truly accurate where zeroed. Truth. Airguns point up like cannons and shoot in an arch. That means they are as accurate as they can be at two points on that arch…going up and down (for example, at 15 and 30 yards.)

Myth. “Broken” airguns are not throw-aways. Most can be repaired with simple repairs like oiling, or replacing seals or springs.

I had so many misconceptions that I could go on all night, but these were my biggest surprises. Hope they help.
Rob

Myth. Airguns are toys and can never be as accurate as firearms. Truth. To my amazement, a great airgun can usually outshoot a good firearm (within the distances they were created to excel; under 10, 20, 50 yards.) I’ve already proven this multiple times shooting with my friends. They’re were more surprised than I was.

Rob
Now that is the truth about air guns and firearms. My brother shoots firearms. Pistols to be exact. and he is pretty good with pistols. And his daughters have a few bb guns and pellet guns as well as my daughters also.

When we go over to his house to shoot I always take at least 2 or 3 of my airguns. all I can say is he is always amazed at how they perform.

Myth. Oil your gun good (or the reverse, pellet guns last forever…there is no need to maintain them.) I’m guilty of both of these. Truth. Pellgun oil is specifically made for airgun lubrication. Engine oil can hurt it. Too much and not enough oil are equally bad for life and performance. There are still some things I don’t understand about lubrication. There are other oils and greases (lithium and molly grease) that I still know almost nothing about.

This is the most indefinite subject.

Pellgun oil is good for low-pressure airguns (single stroke pneumatics and CO2) as it has less effect on rubber seals (and may help said seals — we’ve had some long discussions on just what it really is, including possibly being a treated from of automatic transmission / power steering fluid [both of which get routed through hoses]).

It is NOT recommended for high pressure PCPs and the pistons of spring guns. Those need a truly non-petroleum silicone-based oil/grease which will not react with pressurized oxygen.

Conversely, silicone oils are not “lubricants” suitable for use in mechanical contact points (trigger/sear, pivot pins in break barrels and cocking linkages of single/multi-stroke pneumatics).

Mechanical contact points CAN use petroleum/Teflon based oils/greases (but avoid contact with rubber — I’ve got a red-dot sight that had a rubberized soft-touch coating, and just having been wiped down with a gun rag resulted in that coating turning into black tar…)

And, I’ve read on airgun forums, that, not only is every gun different in what pellets it shoots best, but sometimes, over time, your airgun will change it’s mind and decide it likes some other pellet better. I’ve had that happen with my own guns. This may be mostly with spring piston guns? Maybe due to break in, and the length of time a gun takes to settle in.

Just like I used to try a lot of different handloads in my powder burners, to find out what primer/case/bullet/powder and charge worked the best and showed the best accuracy, every time I get a new airgun, I take a bunch of shooting sessions to try many of the pellets I have on hand, to see what pellet that gun prefers. Sometimes this takes quit a lot of time. Obviously, when reviewing an airgun, Tom can’t get too carried away with this or he’d have to cut down the number of guns he reviews, and we don’t want that…do we? But that’s where his experience comes into play as far as knowing what pellets to even try in a new test gun.

And I am looking forward to the accuracy testing of the 880. There are quite a few on the GTA forums that like the 880 better than the Crosman 2100B. I can only go by my experience with my Remington Airmaster 77, which has been a wonderful airgun for me for over 6 years. I don’t know if I could choose an all plastic airgun over the Airmaster, which has a lot of metal, and has a very solid feel. If your 880 can give you a good numberof tiny one hole groups, at or approaching 0″ center to center at 10 yards scoped and rested, then it may be as accurate as my Remington is. The only airgun I have, which MIGHT surpase my Remington, is a Crosman Custom Shop CO2 carbine, that I also love.

I’m supposed to link all the blogs to the pertinent products on Pyramyd Air’s site, but I stopped doing that some time ago due to having way too much on my plate. I’ll eventually go back and link them…maybe some time this summer.

I have faith that you will ultimately link all the current blogs to the relevant models of airguns. It’s one of the most valuable dimensions to airgunning on the PA site.

I also know that you proof all reviews and provide comments to wacky reviews. No small task. Reviews are sometimes helpful but the “Review, article, latest buzz” is what elevates PA above the competition.

You need another assistant and need to learn to delegate or need a vacation. Think about Colorado in the springtime.

I’ve got that same scope on a few different air rifles. It always came with them. To tell you the truth, I’d rather save $2.00, than pay for that thing. But, many sellers actually charge more for the gun only, than for the gun and scope kit.

Rob I was hoping BB would post the next part of the See All Sight review soon.

BB said he had a idea about how to correct the problem and it was related to optics. And he said wait don’t do anything to my See All Sight and I said I would wait to see what he had up his sleeve.

So In respect to BB I’m going to wait for the next part of the review. But I will say this. What I found is related to optics also. And I will say there was 2 things I did. So I want to wait and see what BB has found and compare with his results.

But I will say that the See All Sight did equal the performance of my red dot sight. With the benefit of seeing the surrounding area. Instead of the red dot sight giving the effect of looking through a scope.

And sorry but BB does that to me all the time. He talks about something then says he will talk about it later. So BB has taught me to be a patient waiter. Haven’t you BB. 😉

And I will be ordering another See All Sight for my Winchester 190 .22 cal . rimfire rifle after finding out how good the sight does work. And don’t worry stay tuned there is more to come. 🙂

I had to look to be sure. In the back of my closet, rests an air rifle I bought, years ago on a whim,, to chase stray dogs and cats away from the house. It served well on the shrub eating deer as well. Or, at least, it forced them to return to nocturnal marauding.

I had, for a while,, a three to nine scope of some manufacture, that I had removed from a firearm when it was replaced. I found it to be equal to the task of shooting bees off the flowers around my patio. I remember being able to focus at higher powers at distances of 15 to 25 feet,, so now I’m wondering why I replaced a scope with that ability.

Be that as it may,, the rifle seemed very accurate,, with pellets,, a bit less so with the BBs. As I said,, it was quite a few years ago,, long before I started learning about the sport.
ed

Hello edlee
I think most of us have fond memories of our first really good bb/pellet gun. For me it was Christmas day when I received my beloved Daisy 1894 replica bb gun. Our parents must have been in cahoots, because all my good buddies received bb guns that Christmas. We lived in the city, so we took turns hosting basement tournaments, shooting at hand drawn bulls eyes, or plastic army men. We learned if you shooti at a metal Dinky toy, it will make a bb ricochet, and to our Mothers greatest fear, take an eye out. I ruined my Daisy couple years later, when I thought if I stretched the main spring, it would shoot faster. Young people had a need for speed even in my day.
I would like to respectfully ask you and anyone else to refrain from shooting pest animals such as cats, dogs,and dear. A gun as powerful as the Daisy 880 causes great suffering to these animals. There are more human methods to deter unwanted marauders. Checkout Youtube. I find it invaluable as a resource.
I would also ask you not to shoot bees. They may make tempting targets, but where would we be without them? They pollinate our flowers so they are able to flourish and give us hours of pleasure enjoying their beauty. Without bees, we would have a difficult time growing food. Pollination by hand ranks a poor second compared to the almost 100% efficiency of bees. There is something that has been killing off the wild bee populations world wide for a number of years. The problem is so acute, the world’s governments are freely working together on this global threat to our food supply. Of coarse, the North Korean government does not participate, as they claim all their bees are happy bees.
I look forward to your future input on this blog. You sound like you enjoy air guns as much as I.
Ciao
Titus

Could the 880 be over cocked for the last shot before storing to solve the cocked storage issue? I remember over pumping these back in the day and it would leave residual pressure, about one or a half a pumps worth…..

Yeah that’s what I meant, I had to rewrite it so mixed it up, Could there be a mod that would bypass the bolt to engage the pump without cocking it? Probably a lot of work for something that’s not really a problem though.

I’m new to this site and actually is the first blog I have ever visited and since I have recently had the flame of tinkering and shooting airguns rekindled as my grand kids are at the age to teach them the dos and don’ts about gun safety. I started as a youngster with my dad with air guns and have actually pulled my original .22 pellet gun i learned with out of closet to blow the dust off and see if it still worked after about 20 years in the closet. To my surprise it pumped up and shot quite well and after some re-oiling of the piston seal it was back to what I remembered it shooting like. Since then teaching the G-kids about gun safety has been a great bonding tool. I do have a question for you Mr Gaylord as my old pellet gun is 1968 crosman model 1400 with sliding breach cover in .22 cal. I was wondering if you know of any reviews or test that you done on this model and if so could you direct me to them. This rifle was used by me so much as a kid that when i got it out of the closet and back to shooting condition I was unable to maintain any kind of reasonable accuracy with it. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the rifled barrel it came with mow looks more like a shotgun barrel being void of any signs of rifling being left in the barrel. It has probably had in the neighborhood of 50 to 100 thousands pellets shot through it in the 10 to 15 years of use as a kid into adulthood. I have since had a crosman steel breech modified by relocating the hold down screw to align with the 1400s mounting area and installed a 24 inch discovery barrel and got my accuracy back. Hopefully you have some test or review info you can turn me on to. I’m not sure how or if you have my email to contact me or if I just need to check back into the blog. hopefully I hear from you Mike

To find answers to your questions, it is always best to post them on the current blog (as you have today). The most readers will see them this way. There is no need to worry about being off the topic of the day. Some sites will give you a tongue lashing for that, but it won’t happen here.

I was happy to read of your mentoring the grandkids in the shooting arts. Far too few kids receive that kind of thing nowadays. I can’t think of a better way to spend family time.

Slinging Lead gave you links to the reviews I’ve done. And Crosman barrels from the 1960s and ’70s were sometimes known to not have complete rifling in them. So your barrel might have been one of those.

I love this gun. My uncle used to hand me his 880 and a box of BBs and let me walk the woods behind his house just plinking the day away. It was the first airgun I ever shot and fueled my passion for airguns to this day. I finally acquired one a few years ago at my local gun shop. It was an old metal framed version, new in the box. It brings me as much joy today as it did 30 years ago.

Inever had one of these. I had the Crosman as a kid. I just couldn’t stand the name “Daisy” when I was 10 years old and on. To sissy sounding. Before that, my first was a Daisy that I wore out. Decades later, I may have to rectify that prejudice and pick one of these up… They sound pretty good!

This brings back fond memories. This was my first airgun, which arrived one Christmas morning in the early 70’s. I was like the kid in the movie A Christmas Story. I had been pining for a BB gun but Mom was against it and shortly before Christmas told me “you’re not getting a bb gun”! Alas, Dad came through and my life changed as air gunning became my first passion.
The version I had was a Ted Williams branded gun, apparently made by Daisy for Sears & Roebuck. It was a smoothbore and had a brass tone, pot metal receiver, with plain black sights. I wore that puppy slam out over a few years. It had a plastic bolt with the magnetic tip, and I remember some portion of the bolt becoming so worn that it stopped working correctly. It’s been too long to remember exactly how it failed.
Somewhere around 1975-fish, my brother and I saw a Daisy model 881 in the Navy exchange, which was marked as having a rifled barrel. About this time I was starting to outgrow the accuracy limitation of BBC’s and was eager for something more accurate.
The models had a plastic trim piece that physically limited the opening travel of the pump arm. It was very annoying to bump this stop when hurriedly pumping up for the next shot. Eventually it broke off and the pumping felt much smoother after that. On the 881, we went ahead and took off the pump arm stop on purpose. Sighhhhh….. that was a LONG time ago!

As to loading:
I have found that if you lay the pellet in the plastic slot on the right of the receiver and use one finger to slide it into place with the barrel aimed downward the pellet falls into place with no trouble. 🙂 .

My 880 is quite accurate, and at the top end of power for MSP air guns in its price range. I have not and never will shoot a BB through it though.

You can store the rifle with one or more pumps of air. Cock the rifle without inserting a pellet or BB and then pump the rifle a few times (BBs can be removed from the loading port if they load automatically with a small stick or key). You can either exhaust the air (safely of course) prior to loading or and pumping, or you can simply reopen the cocking mechanism and insert a pellet or BB.

Additionally, I find it helpful to slightly close the cocking mechanism to cover some of the BB pass through hole to prevent problems when loading a pellet.

Finally, does anyone know how the trigger and valve mechanism is configured? I read somewhere it is a dump valve so all of the compressed air will be exhausted, but I a not sure. With a Daisy 901 I have never been able to “over pump” and have any air remaining after a first shot.

Thanks, I enjoy reading the blog. I agree with all the comments on safety (always first). I never appreciated that when you were storing a pumper with air that you were not cocking first. Duly noted and I will have to change my habits.

You sometimes DO need to cock the airgun to pump it up, but many airguns allow you to uncock them without firing. That is how it is done. The 880-series of rifles don’t allow uncocking by any means except firing.

The valve is such that the hammer spring holds the valve open all of the time unless cocked. So it is essentialy a dump valve, though if there is enough air pressure in the valve chamber to overcome the hammer spring it is possible to leave residual air (though it would take a lot of pumps to get there).

The biggest issue with over pumping is the risk of causing the Bump tube to slide off the inlet valve (that would create a loud pop sound and release the air that is in the gun) as the tube is held in place by a pressure fit. Though I think it would be difficult to cause this problem either.

i want to thank Slinging lead and Ridge runner for welcoming me to this blog and providing me with test info i ask about. BB I was not aware of some barrels not having good rifling in them, but do know that mine had very evident rifling in it when it was new because a couple of my camping and hunting friends had guns without rifled barrels and would always complain that I had an unfair advantage over them because of the rifled barrel, and besides that a .22 pellet Will fall right thru the old barrel just like a BB will fall out of a ,177 gun without a magnet holding it in place. I am very interested in the daisy 880 PCP conversion that BB and Dennis made and it should be a offering by Daisy to get air gun beginners the option as BB stated to be able to buy an affordable PCP gun to try and see if that is the type of pellet gun they like without having to break the bank. I believe it would be an very good marketing tool to increase the sale of the higher priced and better quality PCP guns to people that are unsure about shelling out big buck to find out if that’s what want they own in the long run.I know that I already want buy one and perform that modification to it only spend a little more money doing it to create one that would be comparable to 5 and 600 dollar guns at possibly half the price or less. Thanks again for the test review links. I can see that I have come to the right place as Slinging Lead said. Oh and back off the subject of the 880 for a moment. The mods I have done to my 1400 in the past several months along with installing the new style crosman steel breach and discovery barrel also have included replacing the pump rod piston seal and felt wiper (although the original one probably did not need to be) has been to enlarge the inside of the valve for more air volume and cut two threads off the one half and polish the inside to improve the air flow, drill the transfer port out to 3/16 of an inch in both the barrel and valve, replace the valve spring and hammer spring so that all the air pressure is released when firing and it now allows me to pump it up way past the original 10 pumps that crosman recommended. I have pumped it up to 25 pumps without it air locking after shooting. when it was new i tried to pump it up to like 15 or 20 a few times and found out you get two shots out it with re-pumping (air-locking). At 25 five pumps it has chronograph ed at 950 to 1000 fps depending on the pellets I used and I’m still looking for a little more from it by trying a large assortment of different pellets. Well that’s all for now as I can tend to be long winded at times cause I feel like a teenager starting out discovering the fun all over again. Mike

buldawg76
How is it going. And welcome. And I had to re-read this a couple of times to make sure. And I think your talking about the $100 PCP that Dennis and BB are working on.

“I am very interested in the daisy 880 PCP conversion that BB and Dennis made and it should be a offering by Daisy”

If your talking about the $100 PCP it actually started out as a Crosman 2100B.

And about your gun modification I also have used the Discovery barrel and breach on a few guns. Like the 1377, 1322, 2240 and so on. I also use the 1399 custom stock on those guns. And I don’t know if you read anything about the topic of the R.A.I. adapter that allows you to use a AR style butt stocks on the guns. I don’t know if Dave updated his website but I think he has some of the adapters available for these guns. It sounds like you like modifying things so I thought I would throw that out there at you.

This blog is an encyclopedia of information. You can search here for articles on airguns you are interested in. I have directed many forum members to reviews here by Tom. Quite a few who have besmirched one of my favorite air rifles, the Crosman 2100B/Remington Airmaster 77, and it’s accuracy. If they won’t believe me and my target photos, they can read Tom’s review and see his targets.

B.B., you just keep hitting home runs. Again, looking forward to another review. I’ve never owned one of these. I was going to buy one, finally, but ended up with a Daisy 990 (dual fuel pump/Co2 rifle). James House, author of American Air Rifles and others, liked this gun. He also liked the 22x a lot due to the easy pumping. I always thought I’d get a 22x, but I just kept waiting. Then, pow, they are gone. As a kid, I had the Crosman 760 growing up. Most my friends had the 880. The 880 was more powerful and more accurate than my 760.
All that said, Daisy now lists the gun shooting 800 fps./BB; 665 fps./pellet (per Daisy’s web site).

HI gunfun1 You are correct about the PCP being a crosman 2100, just a little brain fade going on this morning as i was up to late reading in all the blogs here. You ape right about liking to tinker on my air guns .I got a backpacker for x-mas two years ago from my wife. It is way past stock now with a 18 ” barrel, hop up valve and flat top piston and CMP target style peep sights which I like almost as well as a scope. it also has a steel breech. I have i range in my back yard that is just over ten meters and am also lucky enough to have a CMP range here in anniston Al that has open shooting nights every tues and thurs from 4 to 7 pm. they have electronic target systems so you sight your guns in to just about a perfect ten every shot. The only problem with my .22 guns a have to limit my number of pumps to keep MV below 600FPS or it will destroy their targets. I would be interested in AR-15 style stock for my backpacker. So if you could check with Dave about one and let me know that would be great. Thanks and talk to you later

buldawg76
Here is BB’s part1 review of the R.A.I. adapter It has the most information about the adapter and has more links so you can click on to check the products out. Also at the top of the review anything that has a line under it can be clicked on and veiwed also.

And I did talk to Dave tonight and he can do some things right now on a indavidual bases like he did my adapter for my .25 cal. Marauder. Here is what he posted in part 1.

Dave said it was ok to post about this. And BB; Dave mentioned you and him talked about this and I told Dave I would post. So BB I hope Im not getting in trouble with you for posting. After all your reveiwing it for a reason right.

“Dave Says:

February 11, 2014 at 1:22 pm

To clarify my last post, the adapters for the marauder rifle, the 22xx
series and the DAQ pistols are currently being made by request on a
Individual basis. I will update the website when I have larger quantities of
these other variations ready to be shipped.
Thank You All for your support !”

And here is his webpage just for the heck of it. But it is posted in the part 1 review also.

Hey Gunfun1
Thanks for the info about the ar stock conversion. After reviewing part 1 I believe that daves adapter will for the marauder will fit right on my backpacker cause i already have a marauder end cap on it to allow me to adjust the hammer spring preload for adjustable power settings. So I can pump it up to 10 or 15 pumps and still be able to control hammer action also giving me 2 ways to adjust power although truthfully I leave the hammer spring preload set so it holds the exhaust valve open regardless of the number of pumps. It wil not pump up unless it cocked first as the exhast valve is always open. I would kust have to make sure the retention bolt for the daves adapter is short enough that when you tighten it down to where you want at that the bolt does not contact the spring preload screw. Checked out BBs reviews and thats is definitetly the cats meow for adjustabiblity. Got to contact Dave to make me one. If I had a milling/drilling bench I could do it myself which is definitely a item being put in the budget for the future. I been an auto technician for most of my life and also fixed and rode old motorcycles for a hobby and enjoyment, In 1998 I got lucky and landed a job working for Harley at a research and development facility right next to Talladega superspeedway as a durability tech. and in the eleven years of working there was able to take a machinist class on some nice equipment. Best job I ever had and would still be there if thay had not decided to move the testing to arizona to Fords old provimg grounds in 09 due in part to the speedway getting involved with Dale Jarrett racing to give the public the opportunity to drive grand national cars around the track and of course to two nascar races held each year. We did 90% of our testing inside the speedway and could not test when other activities were taking place. I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to test ride a bike around the speedway and since I started there working third shift hours of 10pm to 6.30 am ( we ran three shift of testing) with only your headlight to see the track and 33 degree banking cause talladega does not have any lights on the track. I actually got to ride around it so many times it lost its thrill (just kidding) loved the job and wish I still had it. But any way thanks for the info on the stock mod and will be contacting Dave for sure
Mike

buldawg76
Well that sounds like you had some exciting times. I have drag raced since I got my license to drive about 36 years ago. Can’t remember how many different cars I had through out time. Did everything to them myself. I actually use to help tech cars in the older days at the local dragstrip when I was growing up (late 70’s and early 80’s). Was lucky to have access to many speed shops that were in my area as I was growing up also. And lucky enough to have a old timer take me under his wing if you will. Learned a many a thing from that man.

I also am a machinist. Have done it for 30 years come June of this year. And I still like doing it.
But anyway I think you will like Dave’s product if you get one. Just make sure you give him the information of what your gun is and what end cap you have on it back there. Tell him you talked to me on the Blog. That way he will know a bit about whats up.

And I guess I should really say this. I’m not affiliated with Dave’s business. And did find out that we live fairly close to each other. He was actually over my house over the weekend. But hes a good guy and has a good product. Once you get one. Or I should say if you get one you will be amazed at how it makes the gun fit. Well have a good one. Talk at you later.

Recently I have been seeing this rifle at my local pawn shop with a price tag of $29.99. After reading the blog. I went down and offered them a twenty dollar bill for it. They took it. So I now own one. Pre-loaded with bb’s. Are you going to be doing any “upgrades”? Like a trigger mod? Can this rifle’s over all performance be improved?

I would remove the bb’s. They are steel and will hurt the rifling in the barrel. Get some good pellets, JSB 10.3, Beeman Silver sting( i dont usually recommend pointed pellets but they work well in my 880), Crosman Premier 10.3…ect. Test them for accuracy. If nothing works, you can remove the false barrel and touch up the crown. This is the best single thing you can do for accuracy, if needed. The tasco 2-7X20 scope in a blister pack will work very well on this little gun, the 4X20 that it comes with sometimes was not serviceable on mine. All you might need is the tasco scope and the right pellet Jeff. Also, some pellgun oil for every few hundred shots or so.

Oh, for the trigger…cock it and dry fire it a few thousand times, it will always be single stage, but it gets a little lighter and very predicable. Also, the dry firing works for some great practice if you acquire a safe “target” to pull the trigger on. It really does pass for good trigger time if you take it slow and focus on follow through, and the gun is so light you can practice in this manner indefinitely.

Do not do that. The trigger spring and hammer spring are one and the same. I just increased the pull of the hammer spring to cause a faster opening of the valve to improve performance a bit. I am still looking for a way to improve the trigger with out messing up the hammer spring.

The issue is not dry firing, it is weakening the trigger/hammer spring. The trigger and hammer spring are one and the same on this gun. Thus if you work the trigger repeatedly to reduce the trigger pull, you are weakening the trigger and hammer spring.

If you weaken the hammer spring the valve will not open quite as quickly, and more of the air will be wasted going into the barrel after it is to late for it to help push the pellet. One simple performance modification for this gun is to increase the strength of the Hammer spring so that more of the high pressure air gets behind the pellet wile it will provide the most benefit to the acceleration of the pellet.

What I do is fairly simple. I do not do all that well at speaking in explanation, and terrible on camera. Also my camera is an old composite plugged into an even older ISA slot TV/Video capture card (do not have much money). So I do not know how well a video would really do. I may give it a shot.

The Daisy 880 is a good choice for the beginner who wants a airgun to play with. Its a good looking gun. But it lacks precision and because of its design and low price there isn’t much out there to up grade the gun. Most owners that get serious about the 880 will do their own mods like try to stabilize the straw barrel in its sleeve, little expanding foam just a little behind the front sight will do. I had one since 1993 it still works, but if you abuse it, it will loosen up everywhere, the rear stock will break its locking tabs where it attaches to the receiver (the wooden stocks ones hold up better). I’ve been looking for the Ted Williams model that had a metal cocking handle along with metal receiver. I think a little more weight will make the 880 feel better. I also have the 177x and the Arkansas Can Opener,(wood stocks and metal receivers plastic pumping handle) and they don’t have a bb reservoir and the port behind the bolt has a tab so pellets don’t fall and jam the bolt probe. Everyone will have a different experience with the 880 accuracy. I don’t doubt the good reviews about accuracy nor the bad ones. I’m looking forward the accuracy test since BBs 880 is a safe queen.

I used water supply line on my Rem. Airmaster, from the breech block all the way to just behind the rear sight. The gun went from half inch to quarter inch @ 10 meters, lost a rattle (while pumping) and made the gun feel much more solid! N ext will be that hollow sounding stock.
Reb

thanks for taking the time. i am pumped to have a trusted pro give the 880 a look and let us know how you see it. it would be great to see this review next to the 2100b review. since i was a kid in the early 80’s these 2 guns have always had their own fans and start many “discussions.”

One more thing I’d like to add, a lot of people like shooting bbs due to the faster loading (repeater), but this isn’t good for the barrel. You can buy lead balls/bbs, but I wouldn’t. I’ve tried in my Daisy and the magazine/port isn’t big enough for them. They will get stuck due them the lead ball being bigger in diameter than a steel bb. At least that’s the case with mine. Maybe I could try the smallest diameter lead ball I could find….hmmm now I’m thinking…..

I still have my brother’s early 70’s 880. It required minimal work to restore after sitting for forty years. One o-ring was replaced and the felt had disintegrated so that was also replaced. I gently pushed a q-tip with pellgun oil on it down the barrel with a coated rod and all was well. I felt some resistance near the muzzle end so I wonder if there is a slight choke to the barrel near the muzzle. The rifle shoots very well considering the abuse it suffered back in the day. We did everything wrong. We not only fired BBs–we fired 3 or more BBs at once on occasion. While the pellets were more accurate our ten year old minds wanted to see destruction and the BBs were harder. Like so many I have a great fondness for this old rifle. It is an impressive bit of design work for the price. It only fires pellets now by choice and only at paper. I guess we grew up–mostly.

I’m looking forward to this review since I actually like the Daisy 880. Couple things I noticed… Not criticizing, just pointing them out. If any of these have already been mentioned… Sorry in advance. I skimmed the comments.

“At 10 pumps, Daisy rates the rifle at 715 f.p.s. with lead pellets and 750 f.p.s. with steel BBs.”

Actually according the owners manual the Daisy 880 gets 665 fps w/ 7.6 grain pellets. (And that’s what the Daisy website still lists for pellets.) Which means it should produce about 7.5-7.6 ft-lbs with the seals in perfect condition. The 715 fps must be with either very light pellets (lead free?). With seals in less than perfect condition, I’d expect power to be less.

“I have the same red fiber-optic front sight that they still put on the gun and a non-fiber-optic rear one.”

The current version, at least the one I have which is 2-3 years old, does not have fiber-optic sights. The front blade made of plastic. That’s one of the reasons I prefer my Daisy 880 to my Crosman 2100 actually…

“Pellets can be difficult to load in the 880. The reason seems to be the hole at the rear of the pellet trough that allows BBs to pass through. It can catch the skirt of a lead pellet and make it hang up.”

I find it is easier to load pellets in the Daisy 880 than the Crosman 2100 since the top of the loading port is open. The trick is to roll the pellet into the chamber via the recessed loading trough in the receiver. Its actually easier to load wadcutters than hollow-points, pointed pellets, or domed pellets in my experience since they’re more likely to roll up onto the nose and end up backwards in the chamber if you’re not careful. If you want to ensure the pellet can’t get into the BB magazine, just push the bolt forward a little bit and you’ll block the BB magazine.

“They also criticize the single-stage trigger. Yes, it’s heavy and creepy. But no more than the triggers on similar air rifles made with the same level of performance.”
I’m the first to admit the trigger on the Daisy 880 is heavy (since you can hold the gun by the trigger and not cause it to release), but I don’t know that I’d call it creepy. Mine breaks fairly consistently and cleanly. I actually think it is better than the trigger on my Crosman 2100 and Crosman 760 which have that long, mushy first/second stage. Then again that may just be what I’m used to.

“I’m pretty sure these guns last a long time.”
Depends on how much you shoot them. Also depends on whether you’re an idiot who over-pumps them or not. If you over-pump the gun, you’ll wreck its internals in short order. (I should know, I wrecked one after over-pumping it once when the valves froze after it was sitting in the trunk of my car all day during the winter of 2009/2010. I think I put something like 20-30 pumps in it before I figured out what happened and quit, and that was all she wrote. The gun’s power level dropped like a stone after that.) On the other hand, if you’re smart and don’t over-pump it (and if you don’t shoot thousands of shots through the gun), they can last for years.

“Accuracy is the No. 1 thing owners have to say in praise of the 880. They way most of them talk, I’m expecting something really impressive.”

I’d expect dime sized groups at 10-15 meters from a bench. At least with the right pellets. I’ve had good luck with some of the cheaper Daisy and Crosman wadcutters. I’ve also had reasonably good results with Crosman Premier HPs. But then again, I’m not too picky. If I can get quarter sized groups on a soda can at 50 feet offhand, I’m reasonably happy.

You mentioned what people dislike about the Daisy 880… I’d have added that with a bit of wear, the bolt will sometimes pop back on its own during firing. I’ve had that problem on every Daisy 880 I’ve ever owned. (I think I’m up to 3 at this point.) Its not dangerous, but it is very annoying since the gun will fire at a greatly reduced velocity and still have some air in the tank.

I took those velocity figures from the latest manual that is posted on the Pyramyd Air website. I just checked them and I quoted them correctly. So there is another manual out there with different numbers in it.

As for your other comments, I am glad to see Daisy has gotten rid of the fiberoptics. Edith will check with Daisy to affirm that before she changes the product description, because these companies can change those specs on a dime. We have been surprised before.

The trigger does wear in, I have been advised. I will have to wait for that.

As for the over-pumping and other kinds of unusual stress that some owners can cause, I guess I should mention that. No airgun, especially not one that is made in such a unitized package, can withstand that.

You can fix the bolt problem with a rubber band — the way I solved the Double Disco problem. It is the same cause that is making the bolts open. Unfortunately there is no good anchor point for the band, other than the rear sight, but if it is bothersome, an anchor can be glued on the right side of the receiver.

It seems that the volicity of the stock guns varies a bit from gun to gun. My 880 came shooting right around 700fps at 10 pumps with 7.4 grain pellets, though some report lower numbers, and some a bit higher. I just put that up to manufacturing tolerance of a mass produced inexpensive gun.

My 880 has the Fiber Optic sight, though it is embedded in the blade so it is not noticeable unless it is lit up. The blade is no bigger for it.

“The trigger does wear in, I have been advised. I will have to wait for that.”

Yes the Hammer/Trigger spring does loose strength with time and usage as with any spring. This is not good as the lighter spring causes a slow enough opening of the valve to reduce MV as it looses strength. This is a disadvantage of using the same spring for both the trigger and hammer.

“As for the over-pumping and other kinds of unusual stress that some owners can cause, I guess I should mention that. No airgun, especially not one that is made in such a unitized package, can withstand that.”

Yes overpumping can cause the pump tube to come loose. Though I am not aware of any real damage that it can cause (the pump tube can be refitted), as this gun was definitely over designed 🙂 . It can take the pressure for sure, the weak point is the way that the tube is secured by a simple pressure fit against the seals.

Again thank you for reviewing this great well designed MSP by Daisy :).

It turns out that someone managed to slightly stretch the valve body itself, or more correctly, the through hole for the pin that holds the valve in the compression tube. As it happens, I have the exact same problem with my 40 year old 880 that appears to have the same valve body assembly. I would like to blame it on my brother, but it’s mostly likely my younger self who used to routinely over-pump his 880. Granted, I wasn’t doing anything near what you have documented with 12 pumps. Oh, no, this country boy went all the way to 30 or 40. Sigh.

It’s a shame because finding that little gun in the closet at my Mom’s house got me back into shooting and hunting some 8 years ago. I would dearly love to be able to pass it down to my kids or even train my (someday) grand-kids on it. Alas, probably not to be. The durn thing won’t hold air for more than about 10 minutes. Oh, well. That’s why I bought the R7. 🙂

BTW, I really enjoyed the account of your 880 mods to date. Great work!

“As for your other comments, I am glad to see Daisy has gotten rid of the fiberoptics. Edith will check with Daisy to affirm that before she changes the product description, because these companies can change those specs on a dime. We have been surprised before.”
I’m glad they dropped it too. It makes it so much easier to see what you’re shooting at. Though they may have added it back since I bought newest Daisy 880. I haven’t looked at the Daisy 880S in the blister pack at the local Big Box store in a while.

“You can fix the bolt problem with a rubber band — the way I solved the Double Disco problem. It is the same cause that is making the bolts open. Unfortunately there is no good anchor point for the band, other than the rear sight, but if it is bothersome, an anchor can be glued on the right side of the receiver.”
That’s good to know. I may try that. I always just figured that it had something to do with the bolt not having a big enough locking surface or something. My solution was to make sure I jammed my thumb forward to ensure the bolt was pushed forward all the way. That almost always prevents it. But if the bolt slides back a bit before firing… 🙂

I just looked at the Daisy 880 manual, and it doesn’t mention anything about 7.6-grain pellets or a velocity of 665 fps. Here’s the manual on Pyramyd Air’s site (which is also the current manual on Daisy’s site):

Interesting. I’ll see if I can dig out the manual that came with the last Daisy 880 I bought (circa 2011?). If I can find it (which is an if not a when since there is a fair amount of junk on the bookshelf I think I put it on), and if I can find batteries that will power-up my digital camera I’ll take a picture of the relevant section for you.

As for what Daisy put in the “new” manual, the only thing I can think of is that it is with ultra-light, non-lead pellets. Daisy’s website (am I allowed to direct link to their page on the Daisy 880?) says 665 fps with pellets. Marketing claims strike again? 🙂

The Daisy site does, indeed, say 800 & 655 fps. Know why that’s different than what they put in their manuals? Because of lawyers, lawsuits and settlements. Daisy has agreed to increase the max velocities on their products on their website. The manuals list the velocities they want to claim as possible.

Years ago, I asked Daisy about this discrepancy for another gun…maybe the Buck Jones or some other low-velocity youth gun. I was told that the manual shows one velocity while their website shows another. No explanation. However, B.B. reminded me that lawsuits cause all sorts of strange agreements, and this is one of them.

I love my Daisy 880, scary accurate and a fun rifle to shoot.
The trigger was nice though, a very creepy one stage trigger, but felt like a crisp 2 stage. If you count the creep the first stage. But they have a fatal flaw, they all break around the 1500 shot mark. Something in the valve goes, and that’s what happened to me.

My first 880 that I had broke when I was a kid. It had probably close to I would bet a easy 10 or 20,000 shots on it when it broke. I don’t know if was really that many. But it had alot.

But here’s the thing. I broke it. I was into that power thing when I was a kid also. I use to carry one of those little tin cans of 3 and 1 oil in my pocket all the time. I found that if I put some oil (well more than some oil; more like way to much oil) in the spot were the pump piston was at I could make the gun shooter harder. Or so I thought.

Well one day after All those shots accumulated it happened. The pump arm broke. But I did get another one and I didn’t mistreat the next one. Yep I still got it. And I really cant even imagine how many shots have gone through it.

I don’t know that they break at a specific number of shots. So that claims a new one to me. That said, I don’t think the new Daisy 880s are as well made as the older ones, but I’m basing that off of recollections of my first one from the mid-90s. And I know the new Daisy 880s are mass produced in China. (That’s how the price has stayed so low for so long.) So its possible they wear out faster than they used to back in the day.

J.
Now that you say that I wonder where the 880’s were made in the beginning. I know my 1st one I got was in the early 70’s. I’m thinking 72 because that would of put me at 11 years old.

That’s also when I had my Crosman 760 with the wood stock and wood pump handle. And a rifled barrel. I still have that 760. And I did get another 760 about 10 years ago for my daughters to learn on when they were around 6 years old. Plastic stock and pump handle and smooth bore. And I still have that one also. Guess which one shoots better.

Oh and I did get the second 880 about 2 years after the first one. And yes I still have it. It was still a wood stock gun like the first one.

So I’m sure the models I have of the early Daisy and Crosman rifles are made different than what they make today. But who knows. Only time will tell what the new models will bring as far as dependability goes.

On another point I remember when they said they were going to start making valve covers, intake manifolds and radiator’s out of some kind of revolutionary plastic back in the Muscle car days. Now look at the engine compartment of our modern cars.

Then look at carbon fiber. So who knows what is really better. Old technology or new technology. And I’m sure things may get better; well or worse in the future. Will see.

“Now that you say that I wonder where the 880′s were made in the beginning.”
I’m guessing the Daisy 880s made in the 1990s and earlier where made in the USA. I’m not exactly sure when they moved production to China, but the last couple 880s that I’ve bought were made there.

“Oh and I did get the second 880 about 2 years after the first one. And yes I still have it. It was still a wood stock gun like the first one.”
Are you sure you’re thinking of the Daisy 880 and not the Daisy 177x? They had a very similar appearance but the Daisy 177x was a premium gun with metal and wood vs. the Daisy 880s plastic.

I have seen some of the older Daisy 880s, and have had a chance to shoot one. The older ones seem lower quality to me. Yes they did not have any plastic, though many of the metal parts seem to be less durable to there plastic replacements (take the Pump Handle and arm as an example). And they had wood stocks, I do not see a wood stock lasting 100 years of regular use even if well treated, a plastic stock on the other hand could easily last 100years of regular use if well treated, same goes for many other parts of the gun.

Though only time will tell (maybe). That is if the new model Daisy 880 guns survive the through away mentality that most Americans seem to have these days (yuck).

“The older ones seem lower quality to me. Yes they did not have any plastic, though many of the metal parts seem to be less durable to there plastic replacements (take the Pump Handle and arm as an example).”
Two things… First are you talking about the Daisy 880 or the Daisy 177x? As I said in response to gunfun1’s comment, they’re very similar in appearance but the 177x was a premium model. The second is that I was comparing my memories of the Daisy 880 I had in the mid-90s with the current one. I can’t quite explain why, but the newer ones feel a bit cheaper. They perform about the same, but…

“And they had wood stocks, I do not see a wood stock lasting 100 years of regular use even if well treated, a plastic stock on the other hand could easily last 100years of regular use if well treated, same goes for many other parts of the gun.”
I’m sure Tom and others may comment on this, but wood stocks regularly last for over 100 years with basic care. If you don’t believe this, then watch a few episodes of Pawn Stars where they’re buying pre-1898 firearms. Or simply take a look at old (WWI and WWII) milsurp rifles. Those guns have seen a lot of use over the years and their stocks bear witness to it. However the original wood is still there.

“That is if the new model Daisy 880 guns survive the through away mentality that most Americans seem to have these days (yuck).”
Thing is there are some low-end airguns (like the current iteration of the Crosman 760 for example) where (unless you’re mechanically gifted and can do the work yourself) its actually cheaper to just junk it if/when it breaks and buy a new one because you’ll spend more on shipping, parts, and labor to have it repaired than the gun is worth. That is a bit sad, but true.

J.
That’s a good question. I don’t know if the 880 I got has a metal receiver or not. It does have a wood stock I know for sure. But I don’t have it here at my house to look at. It is stored away with some other guns.

I did a quick check on Daisy’s website. They no longer have the article on the 177x. I was hoping I could link you to it, but apparently they took it down since the last time I saw it. If you want to take a look at the 177x you could always Google it and check the pictures that come up. That might give you something you could compare with what you’re remember about your airgun.
J

One Pump for storage…I do it all the time on both the 880 and the Winchester 77XS, open the breech give it one pump and close the breech. I’m sure you would need to empty out the BB’s first, I wouldn’t know I’ve never shot BB’s in either gun.